Mark Reynolds: Getting to 40 is special

Diamondback honored to be among league leaders

It's pretty cool to get to 40 home runs because there are a lot of guys who haven't done it. Considering there's a few weeks left, if I keep being consistent, maybe I can end up a few homers north of 40.

I'm also just the second Diamondback to ever reach that mark. Being in the record book along side Luis Gonzalez is humbling. He's done a lot of great things for this organization and I hope to follow in his footsteps. That includes a World Series as we go about making this a winning franchise again.

It's a little surreal to see my name up there among the leaders in the category. I grew up watching Albert Pujols and all of these other great sluggers. To be among the league leaders in a category like home runs is really cool. At the same time, there's still a lot of baseball left and I'm going to keep playing and keep trying to do my thing.

Most hitters don't go up to the plate thinking they're going to hit a home run. I do think along those lines in certain situations. Maybe it's late in a game, or it's a tied ballgame, its on your mind. Other times I'm just trying to put a good at-bat on the pitcher. Every now and again I get one.

This is my second full season in the big leagues, and while I had a nice year last year, I think the big difference for me this season has been my ability to be more consistent. Last year I was up and down at times. Yeah, I hit homers and drove in some runs, but this year I haven't had as many bad streaks as I had in '08.

This year I've had days where I don't feel very good but I've been able to get a blooper to fall in or do something else to help the club. The main difference has been that consistency.

Cutting down on my strikeouts is also something I've been working on. I worked on it in Spring Training a lot but at times I felt like I was sacrificing a lot to just not strikeout. I've obviously struck out a lot this year but I've been able to pick myself up in other areas.

From a mental standpoint, I've been better about not taking my bad at-bats out to the field with me. I've also been able to block out what people write or say about me striking out. I've really taken that approach about myself on the whole. I just don't care. I don't read it. I just go out and play.

As long as I have a jersey hanging in my locker, I'll keep plugging along.

Mark Reynolds slugged his 40th home run of the season on August 29, capping a month in which the 26-year-old Diamondbacks third baseman hit 11 of them. Currently, Reynolds' 41 homers are second in the majors to Albert Pujols' 47.

This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.